Summary

In September 2020, the secretariat to the independent review of the National Redress Scheme. (located in the Australian Government Department of Social Services), commissioned CIRCA to consult with advocates and service providers about the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the National Redress Scheme.

The National Redress Scheme (the Scheme) started on 1 July 2018 and provides support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse.

The Scheme has three main purposes, namely, to recognise the suffering that survivors of child sexual abuse in Australian institutions endured, to hold those institutions accountable for the abuse, and to help survivors gain redress by way of counselling, a formal apology, and a Redress payment.

CIRCA’s specific objectives for the research were to:

• understand the lived experiences of a range of diverse people who had either attempted suicide or who had experienced suicidal crisis.
• assess the level of knowledge about the scheme within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,
• develop an understanding of how the scheme is working for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, and
• capture the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants with the scheme generally.

CIRCA’s Research Approach

Given the highly sensitive nature of the topic, CIRCA used an intermediary approach to identify potential interviewees for the study.

CIRCA interviewed organisations funded to support scheme applicants, as well as other advocacy and support organisations working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients that have not been funded through the scheme. Specifically, CIRCA conducted one on one interviews with organisations, which fell into two cohorts:

• Cohort A: organizations nationwide which receive dedicated funding from the Department of Social Services
• Cohort B: relevant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocacy or service provider organisations operating within jurisdictions across Australia, which are not funded to provide applicant support but which have an understanding of, and attitudes to, the scheme.

Research Findings and Outcomes

The consultations undertaken by CIRCA revealed several challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in accessing the program, as well as opportunities to better achieve the purposes of the scheme.

• The research revealed that there is a relatively low level of awareness of the National Redress Scheme in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, other than where individual organisations have been able to promote the scheme. CIRCA provided recommendations for ways awareness could be improved, based on suggestions from research participants.
• Respondents across state and territory jurisdictions emphasised that there is a high level of confusion (and fatigue) within communities about how this scheme differs from other government inquiries and schemes.
• Respondents identified wide-ranging barriers to eligibility to the scheme that are hindering access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors. CIRCA provided specific recommendations for ways eligibility could be adjusted to allow more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors to participate in the scheme.
• In addition, the research revealed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities generally do not find the scheme application process easy to understand or complete and that there is little or no knowledge of what the application process involves. The research was able to point out specific aspects of the application process that could be improved to ease comprehension and completion.

The findings from CIRCA’s research were incorporated into the Final report of the second-year review of the National Redress Scheme available here: https://www.nationalredress.gov.au/document/1386